Yarn feeder devices are known that have a yarn feed wheel with yarn wrapped around it, which serves on the one hand to continuously draw a yarn off from a yarn bobbin and on the other to furnish this yarn to a yarn-consuming station, such as a knitting machine. Such yarn feeder devices have a retainer or base body on which a yarn feed wheel is rotatably supported with a preferably vertical pivot shaft. The yarn feed wheel is supported by the shaft and is driven via pulleys disposed on the other side of the shaft. Both along the way to the yarn feed wheel and on the way from the yarn feed wheel, the yarn is passed through yarn guide elements, such as eyes.
For checking whether yarn is present or not, a so-called yarn feeler is often present. This is a lever that is pivotably supported on the base body or retainer and has a free end that bears down on the yarn. If the yarn sags or tears, the lever moves out of its operating position and a warning light is turned on, for instance. This is the response position.
As a rule, the yarn feeler lever is located on the yarn in the vicinity of a yarn guide element that keeps the yarn at a defined height. When the yarn is being threaded in, it must be guided through the yarn guide element. When this is done by hand, the yarn feeler lever often can be an obstacle if the lever is located next to the yarn guide element. On the other hand, during operation of the yarn feeder device, the yarn feeler lever must be prevented from skipping or fluttering on the yarn traveling through it. Otherwise, the function of the yarn feeder device could be impaired.